Cactus League 2018 - Wrap up

After attending Spring Training in AZ for many years, starting back when the Padres were in Yuma! and there was no cost to tailgate behind the chain link fence, the Cactus Practice games now cost more than a regular season game at PetCo Park!

I have attended a game at every stadium in the Cactus League, including the Padres when they were in Yuma and the Rockies when they were in Tucson.  I had been to all 9 of the ballparks in the Cactus League and then the Chicago Cubs opened Sloan Park, making a 10th venue for my Bucket List.  The last time we tried to go to Sloan Park it was a sell-out, so this time I bought tickets online as soon as they went on sale.

But there was another reason to go this year, with Ichiro back in a Mariners uniform, that was our first game.  If just to say goodbye to one of the best, as he plays his last season back with the  Mariners where he started.


My Padres were smoked by KC at Surprise Stadium 4 – 0 as in zip for the Padres.  But the following day they made a late comeback with 3 runs in the 7th to beat the Cubs.

We are settled in the Usery Mountain Regional Park.  As we walk the trails it is abundantly clear the area of the Sonoran Desert is under great stress from the prolonged drought.   What’s left of this cholla is now a packrat nest.  The ribs of this saguaro remain standing although the cactus is long gone.


The barrel cactus tend to lean to the south, as the north side grows faster.


The saguaro often are found with the palo verde trees, which provide shelter as they mature.


Healthy saguaros are abundant, the one below even has a cactus wren that is nesting within.  However the one in the background is not what it appears – it is affectionately called a ‘cell-guaro’. It provides the strong Verizon signal to the campers.


At the Nature Center the landscape is on a drip irrigation system allowing the plants to thrive.  The hummingbirds were feeding on a large chuparosa there.


Back at our campsite our little feeder was getting quite a bit of attention also.


Took this wren a few tries to figure out he needed to land sideways on the feeder to have any hope of getting a taste of the nectar.


We spotted this massive crested arm on a saguaro off North Usery Pass Road.


I always schedule a couple of days to enjoy unrelated baseball  options in the Phoenix area.  We rented a couple of eBikes and cruised around Scottsdale.  The shop is across the street from McDowell Preserve with all those awesome trails, but our rental bikes were not capable of riding on the trails.  But we did cruise past the Jalapeno Inferno … I’ve got to get back there!

Another day we rode the Dolly Steamboat on Canyon Lake.  We  first rode the Dolly on Lake Pleasant.  I have seen pictures of the relocation – not an easy task.  This is a beautiful ride with the canyon walls nearly 1000’ above the lake surface.



There is a section with caves along one of the cliffs, which provide homes to hundreds of bats.


A few years ago we took an evening cruise on the Dolly, also on Canyon Lake, and spotted over a dozen big horn sheep (link HERE), but only one today.


Afterwards we stopped at the tourist trap of Tortilla Flats for lunch.  There’s really not much here, but it sure draws the tourists.  The restaurant walls are covered with dollar bills.  This all started in 1974 when a Saudi laborer left a 500 riyal note in the tip jar.  It was pretty and unusual so it was hung on the wall.


The Mercantile did have a book with hikes just for me!


The only ballpark I have not been to is the Spring Training Home of the Chicago Cubs.  It’s a great venue, there’s not a bad seat.  There’s no vendors, or buildings between field and the fan.  Just the batter’s eye in center field.  No wonder it consistently sells out, it’s a great place to watch a game.


I was not impressed with their World Famous Chicago Dog.  Just different toppings on a regular dog IMHO.


We had another great time in the Valley of the Sun, including Usery's Ranger B's very funny and informative nature walks on rattlesnakes, cacti, etc.  But our week here is over and it’s time to head back to the beach.  A couple thoughts: 1. they drive FAST, not rude, just in a hurry to be somewhere else; 2. little solar in the valley of the sun … whatzup?

“Love is the most important thing in the world, but baseball is pretty good too” ~Yogi Berra

Cactus Practice – Spring Training at the Cactus League

“Love is the most important thing in the world, but baseball is pretty good too”
`Yogi Berra

DANG IT! before we even left for the ballgames, the doc says that pain and swelling in my left knee is a torn meniscus!  It is a minor tear, but inconvenient none the less.  I should follow his RICE (Rest Ice Compression Elevation) regime for the next 6 weeks.  I like the idea of rest , and ice packs 4 times a day at 20 minutes each is ok too.  Figure in the 6 weeks it comes to 3360 minutes (4 x 20 minutes/day x 7 days/week x 6 weeks) of RICE!  Bet it was those dang new shoes I bought for the High Tide Breakfast!  My toes need to see the light of day … Anyway I’ll be kicking back for a few more weeks.

The ballgames must go on!  And I have a Bucket List to attend a game at each of the venues in the Cactus League.  I bought 2 tickets to Sloan Park to see the Cubs play.  And that game will complete that Bucket List check mark, but afterward I scored 2 more tickets to the same game.  If you want to see the Cubs host the ‘Dbacks on March 15th let me know, I have 2 extra GA tickets.

With the freezer full of crushed ice,for my ice packs, we are heading out, taking I-8 east from San Diego with a late morning start.  On this trip we’ll often stop at the Center of the World, or for a Date Shake, or both.  But with the late start and an ice pack on my knee we cruise along knowing we can make Gila Bend at sunset.

There are numerous places to boondock along our route if hookups are not needed, or in Gila Bend if they are desired.  But I’m willing to pay to boondock at Painted Rock.  Painted Rock is a BLM campground ($8/$4), 10 miles off the highway, it’s quiet, it has large sites with table and fire ring, awesome dark skies, good cell service and painted rocks!

Most sites are like the one we pick – long pull-thru sites on graded gravel.


There are numerous educational signs near the rocks, that explain the importance of the Gila River to the indigenous tribes, the passage of Juan Batista de Anza with Padre Font, the Pony Express and Overland Mail all passed this way …



…. back when there was water in the Gila River.  It seems not so long ago that we would come to Gila Bend to enjoy tubing and float trips in the Gila River, but alas it is now dry, as dams have been built up stream – even east of Phoenix the old river bed is now dry.

The painted rocks are of course the highlight that make this detour totally worth it.  Although the art is chipped into the rock as petroglyphs, I’m ok with the name.



There are literally thousands of artworks chipped into the desert varnish on the basalt rocks.

And new to me this year is an executive 9-hole golf course … clubs and balls provided – FREE!   The T-boxes and greens are ‘manicured’, the fairway is indeed a bit rough!


Now we are settled in at Usery Regional Park.  Nice location although a bit of a drive to My PADRES in Peoria, but it’s convenient to all things Cubs and the fun along Apache Trail.